Scripture

“I don’t believe missionaries should have to raise their own support. It is an unnecessary burden for them. The church should be sending missionaries, therefore I will not support you.”

This was essentially the answer I received from someone who was invited to partner with us. I was saddened for a number of reasons, but the one that troubles me the most was the reasoning he gave. And not so much that it was his reason, but it was once mine, too. He was firm in his conviction and for me to insist on a longer discussion on the matter would have been pushy and argumentative. But I have been challenged to think about the matter more and hopefully the following will be helpful to others.

Hi, I am a missionary. Please give me money…

Yes, there are times when I would rather just not go through all this traveling, and calling, and texting, and calling, and emailing, and calling, and writing, and calling, and asking. But, believe it or not, Continue reading →

From time to time you will notice that I post a variety of things on social media concerning Native America in general and Cherokee specifically. It may be historical or current, political or religious, historic or simply culturally interesting. I post, tweet, re-tweet, and pass stuff along as I notice them from my Native American media feeds. I do this that you (we) may gain a better perspective of how Native Americans view the world. Since most of us have had our ideas about Native Americans shaped by Hollywood movies and U.S. government history books, it would only be wise to allow them to speak for themselves.

James 1:9 tells us that we should be quick to hear and slow to speak. Although I have studied a bit and have some knowledge of Native Americans, I don’t feel entitled to any real opinion that matters, except that the name of Jesus was too often misrepresented among them and only He can provide true reconciliation. By passing something along to you, I am not asking you to agree with all that is represented, but I would hope that you would try to understand why an individual or tribe may feel as strongly as they do about things.

Cultural sensitivity is not the same as political correctness. As Christians we need to be kingdom focused. We should do everything we can that doesn’t violate Scripture to break down every barrier and remove every stumbling block that hinders us from clearly proclaiming the gospel to Native Americans. The Apostle Paul became all things to all men that he might save some (1 Cor 9:19), but too often Christians are not willing to do that. We hold so firmly to our denominational and political allegiances (dare I say racial/ethnic and socioeconomic as well), that we have no idea what it means to follow Paul’s example. I am not exempt from this charge. I hope you will join me in getting acquainted with our Native American neighbors and hopefully get reacquainted with the Lord of the Harvest whom we represent.

Please visit our Contact page to see the various ways you can track with us. You also may want to check out John Piper’s sermon on 1 Cor 9:19 by clicking here.